


Paper Mache Hearts

by jetreadsstuff



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Comedy, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Heith - Freeform, I APOLOGIZE, Jett accidentally projects a little, M/M, Minor Sholo, Pidge is a little shit (of course), Plaxance, Pls don't kill me, Slow Burn, Updates on Mondays, allura and lance are adopted siblings, but it still hurt a bit, but that aint gonna happen lads, complicated family dynamics, fast really fast burn for one, it just doesn't fit, it's okay though lol you let it sit, medium burn for others, more fluff than angst tho, of the microwave but without mitts, oh god my soul, oh god the shatts are coming to kill me, shayllura, slow burns for some pairings, that kind of burn, then Matt has a mini crush on Shiro, these kids are gonna kill me, when you take pizza rolls out
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2018-11-09 07:19:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11099655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jetreadsstuff/pseuds/jetreadsstuff
Summary: Five friends rule the Altea Shopping Mall with chili cheese fries, bad life advice from a children's toy, four opossums and a whole lot of friendship.





	1. Of bad flirting and questionable employer ethics

“Today is the day,” Lance announced to the food court.

“What day?” Pidge asked, plopping her food tray at the table next to them.

“Excellent question, Katie!” Lance propped one foot up on the chair and placed his hands on his hips, “It is on this day that I, Lance Diaz, finally ask the girl who works at the movie theater out.”

“Yeah but haven’t you been saying that for like, a year and a half now?” Keith pointed out, which Lou responded to by elbowing him in the ribs. 

“Whatever, mullet,” Lance rolled his eyes, “should you really be giving me grief when you carry a fanny pack?”

“They’re fashionable!” Keith defended, “Plus they’re good for carrying snacks.”

“That’ll be useful for when you pick up the kids at soccer practice,” Lou mumbled under her breath, stifling a giggle.

“We believe in you, Lance!” Hunk smiled, pumping his fist in the air enthusiastically. 

“Thank you, Hunk, at least someone is supportive around here,” Lance smiled at his best friend.

“I’m supportive too, dammit!” Lou banged her fist on the table, “Just in an angry way! Now you march over there and get those digits! Make your big sister proud!”

“You’re only older by three months, Allura,” Lance pointed out.

“There’s no time for this!” Lou shouted, “Now go!”

“Will you kids shut the hell up?” They heard someone shout from the other side of the food court.

“Eat my shorts, grandpa!” Lou flipped the man off.

“Oooookay, we are definitely switching you to decaf,” Lance held his sister back by the wrist. 

“You can’t decaf the rebellion!” Katie shouted.

“Don’t encourage her,” Lance groaned, “she only gets worse with reinforcement. Now, I’m gonna need you to calm down.”

“I am calm,” Lou said through gritted teeth.

“On that note,” Keith pushed himself up from the table, “I should probably get back to job hunting. There’s only so many hours in the day.”

“I heard the cashier at Grease got fired for selling coke in the back of the store, so a position just opened up there,” Katie suggested.

“Why would someone get fired for selling pop?” Hunk asked.

“Oh, Hunk,” Lou smiled, “sweet innocent child. No.”

“Thanks for the heads up, Katie,” Keith grabbed his jacket off the chair.

“I mean, clearly they don’t have a very sophisticated screening process, so you’ll definitely get hired even with your past...incidents,” Lance said.

“If you are referring to fountain thing, that was awesome and it enriched mall culture, thank you very much,” Keith tossed his jacket over his shoulder and stalked off.

“It enhanced something, alright,” Lou called after him.

“Now, back to the subject at hand,” Hunk swiveled in his chair to face Lance, “you’re sister is right, dude. Now or never.”  
“Pshaw!” Lance protested, “You’re one to talk, Mr…..Mr….’I’ve been in love with Keith for three years and still haven’t done anything about it’......guy.”

“Ooooo, looks like something other than falafel is getting heated in this food court,” Katie smirked.

“Not helping!” Hunk and Lance said in unison. 

“Who said I was trying to help?” Katie pointed out, to which Hunk responded to by launching a crinkle-cut fry at her.

“Well, kids,” Lou sighed, “as much fun as this has been, I do have to be getting back to work. Talk to you guys at the end of shift.”

“Oh yeah, you have to be back in time to see your little  _ friend _ ,” Katie winked.

“There are no little friends. Friends are made up. I have none. Fuck you,” Lou said, walking away briskly.

“The hell was that about?” Lance asked.

“Oh, nothing,” Katie grinned mysteriously, “deary me, I should be getting back to the arcade. Pac-man isn’t gonna play itself.”

“How are you going to get money, may I ask?” Hunk raised an eyebrow.

“I know a guy who cannot resist my adorable face,” Katie grinned, and with that, she was off.

“Okay, now what the hell was that about?” Lance asked again.

“What makes you think I would know? I’m in the same food court as you are,” Hunk pointed out. 

“Who even knows anymore?”

* * *

 

Keith sauntered into Grease super casually, like, totally the most casual, ie, he smashed into the freaking CD display the second he walked in.

“Can I help you?” The woman behind the counter asked.

“Yeah, I heard you guys were hiring,” Keith said, scraping up what little was left of his dignity.

“Yeah, yeah we are,” the woman reached under the desk for an application, “why? You need a job, fountain boy?”

“...Yeah,” Keith answered. Great. His possible future work-mate already knew about that. As if he didn’t get enough grief for that on a daily basis anyway. He took the application and waved awkwardly at the girl as he left.

“Where are you going?” The woman asked.    

“I’m going to go fill this out,” Keith pointed to the application.

“And you can’t do that here?” she crossed her arms, “store’s pretty much empty, you can use the counter.”

“Yeah,” Keith somehow managed to bite back his  _ ‘but I don’t want to’ _ and walked back over to the register. Mouthing off hadn’t exactly been helpful in this whole job hunting extravaganza, he noticed. He lazily filled out the app behind the counter, stopping every so often to tell a customer to use the other register. He handed it to the woman, and she proceeded to skim it.

“You put ‘it’s questionable’ under felonies,” she noted. 

“I didn’t want to lie,” Keith shrugged.

“You only have one reference,” she continued.

“Well…” Keith scratched the back of his neck.

“And on best time to call, you wrote ‘between the hours of eight pm and ten am’”

“That’s when I’m at home,” Keith explained.

“Okay,” she sighed and rubbed her temples, “you are ridiculously under-qualified, but we’re kind of desperate right now. Look, show up at eight am sharp tomorrow and the job is yours if you want it.”

“Holy sh-crap, really?” Keith cut himself off.

“Yeah, whatever. Now, get out of here before I change my mind, alright?” Her tone was tired and not-having-it-esque.

“Yes ‘m,” Keith nodded, as he scrambled out of there. He couldn’t believe it. Someone had been desperate enough to hire him! And in his favorite place, nonetheless. He wanted to thank her a million times, but she had made it clear he was already pushing his luck. No, celebratorily pumping his fist in the air John Bender style would have to suffice.

* * *

 

“I can’t believe you’re going to try and mooch off of me again!” Matt scoffed, wiping down the blender.

“Really? Coz it’s kind of become routine at this point,” Katie pointed out.

“Katie, forget it,” Matt groaned, “I’m tired of you moochin’ off of me. I’m saving up to buy a car, you know.”

“Yeah, and your little smoothie sanctuary is clearly going to make a dent in that,” Katie rolled her eyes.

“Can’t you get your own job?” Matt asked.

“I already have mom and dad nagging at me to do that,” Katie rubbed her temples, “do I have to have my brother doing that to? We’re supposed to be on the same team! This is outrageous! What about sticking it to the man? What about fighting for what we believe in? What about uniting against an oppressive power? What about-”

“How much money is it going to take to shut you up?” Matt sighed, taking out his wallet.

“For exactly fifteen dollars, you can buy my silence,” Katie grinned.

“Fifteen dollars?! What, are you gonna get a timeshare on the moon?” Matt gasped.

“You are as much of a cheapskate as Dad, you know that, right?”

“Just,” Matt huffed, handing her some crisp bills, “take them. Take them and go. Before I change my mind.”

“Thank you, good sir, for funding the charitable Katie Lena Holt foundation. Your contribution is greatly appreciated,” Katie said, smugly. 

“Contribution,” Matt mumbled, “charitable my ass I will tell you something else.”

* * *

 

Allura tried not to notice. She really did. She tried not to notice the pretty girl at the jewelry kiosk. She tried not to notice how perfectly her hair swished side to side. She even tried to ignore how the kiosk was located directly next to her store. As in, the store Allura worked in and had to go to every day and  _ oh stars she was headed right for her now _ . 

“Hey,” the girl spoke. 

“Hey,” Allura managed to squeak out, “how may I help you?”

“Just came in the store to,” she paused and looked at Allura directly, “you know, check it out.”

“Oh,” was Allura sweating? She felt like she was sweating. 

“I’ve never been in this store before, which I find strange considering I work right there,” she continued, blissfully unaware of the furious blush Allura had obtained.

“Really? Never?” Allura asked, “I think I’ve been in just about every store in this mall. I practically live here.”

“Ditto,” the girl scratched her neck, “well, just figured we’d better get acquainted if we’re gonna be working in each other’s general vicinity. You know, I mean, in case we uh, whatever. Nothing. Nevermind.” The other blushing girl was ready to hightail it out of there, but Allura, being the person she was-

“Wait!” She said, unnecessarily loudly. She cleared her throat, “Wait. I, uh. I’m. Allura. Because, you know, if we’re going to be working so close by, we may as well introduce ourselves.”

“Allura?” she asked, “Wow. That’s a really pretty name.”

“Thanks. I picked it out myself,” Allura beamed. Wait, shit. Did she really just say...

“I’m Shay,” she smiled and held out her hand.

“You too. Your name, I mean. It’s also very pretty. Like the person who possesses the name. I mean-This is why I don’t talk.”

“Well, I should get back to work, in case someone decides to actually stop by my booth instead of, you know, running past it or faking a phone conversation. But it was very, very nice to meet you, Allura,” she waved and smiled as she turned to leave. 

“Likewise,” Allura waved back. She propped up her elbows on the counter and rested he head on her folded hands. Optimal ‘staring at super cute girl who didn’t run the other direction when the useless lesbian made a fool of herself’ position.

“Wow,” Katie said, freeing  Allura from her daze.

“Gah!” Allura snapped up, “Katie! How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough, Lou, long enough,” Katie shook her head and took a sip from her slushie.

“Don’t you have more arcade money now?” Allura asked.

“Enough to get me through the week,” Katie sighed, “but I couldn’t miss you getting all lovey-dovey with your giiiiiirlfriend.”

“She is not-Look, I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” Allura folded her arms and turned up her nose.

“Okay, well,” Katie scoffed, “why were you looking at her the way my dorky brother looks at falafel boy?”

“I will…” Allura hesitated, “I will have to get back to you on that. But like you’re any better with arcade girl? Pshaw.”

“Pshaw? Pull yourself into the century please,” Katie rolled her eyes, “and yeah, maybe I have been spending a lot of time at the arcade because of a certain cool quarter girl. But at least  _ I _ confess it.”

“Katie, my affairs of staring for an inordinate amount of time at kiosk girl are frankly none of your concern,” Allura pointed out.

“Come on,” Katie whined, “I love the guys. I do. But I can’t talk about girls to them. Lance and Hunk, maybe, but it’s different.”

“I promise, as soon as I get off of work, you and I grab a pretzel and have one of our chats, but right now I have to restock the field hockey gear.”

“Victory is mine, once again,” Katie said triumphantly.

“Yeah, yeah,” Allura rolled her eyes, “you’re queen of the world. Now, can you please let me get back to work?”

“Okay, yeah. Work,” Katie smirked, sauntering off, “you tell your dad and Harold that what you did today can be considered ‘working’.”

“Who the fuck is-” Allura started, but Katie was already gone. 

* * *

 

“Lance, I have told you a million times, this week we’re showing Killer, Killer! Part Eight, Existentials of Requiem and Coller ID. Which you’ve seen all of. Twice,” Plaxum drummed her fingers on the counter.

“It would be robbing the theater community if I didn’t come here. I mean,” Lance concluded by gesturing to himself.

“Oh, brother,” Plax mumbled, rolling her eyes, but she was smiling, “so what’ll it be this time, Diaz?” 

“Killer, Killer! Part Eight. I think I missed the same part the first couple of times,” Lance lied. 

“Oh, yeah?” Plax asked, tearing off a ticket, “And this has nothing to do with the fact that you were squeezing your eyes shut and absolutely refusing to open them?”

“I wasn’t scared, for your information, I was...Um…” Lance trailed off. 

“Alright alright,” Plax rolled her green eyes. She smirked, “I get it.”

“Good,” Lance tapped a finger on his elbow. He just had to find a good opener, an in. But there was only so much time between asking for a ticket and actually getting one. A short window. A window that was closing.  _ Crap, Lance, do something! _

“Now, are you sure you want to be spending your Friday night at a theater? I mean, shouldn’t a cute, popular guy like you be on dates on weekends?”

“I keep my calendar open,” Lance explained, “sometimes there’s last minute parties that Alex invites me to out of nowhere or-” Lance suddenly stopped himself.

“Oh, shiitake mushrooms,” Plax facepalmed.

“Did you just call me cute?” Lance asked, failing to bite back a large grin.

“Cute, in like, an objective way. You know, your face...Isn’t terrible. You’re conventionally attractive is all,” Plax was as red as her uniform, “that’s all I meant! Don’t let it go to your head, Lance.”

“Too late,” Lance said in a singsong-y voice, walking past her to get to the concessions.

“Smooth,” Florona snorted.

“Whatever,” Plax shrugged it off, as if she wasn’t blushing like someone was holding a hairdryer directly in front of her face on high heat.

* * *

 

Quarter girl stood directly in front of Pidge, blasting music on her MP3. She swept her bangs out of her eyes and smiled at Pidge. Pidge’s internal monologue at this time:  _ hoooooo boy. Hooooo. It should not be legal to be that cute. Crap, she’s coming over here! Lord give me strength- _

“How many?” The girl asked,tapping her foot on the floor.

“Uh, I,” Pidge hesitated, staring at the bills in her hand. She had suddenly lost the ability to do any and all basic math. 

“We have a chart, if you…” the girl gestured to a sign in the corner, converting dollars to quarters.

“I’m good,” Pidge grinned, a little too brightly, and for a little too long.  _ Pull it together, Holt, _ “I think I’m good with about 20 quarters for now.” She held out the five dollar bill.

“Coming right up,” she said fake-chirpily, smacking her gum. There was a brief moment, short, but still there, when quarter girl handed Pidge the fuckton of quarters, and their hands brushed together.

“Okay,” Pidge nodded, “I’ll just be over here with, you know, with my Pac men and my galacticas and...whatnot.” Nervous laughter was meant to break the ice, but it only stood to make things more awkward. 

“You...have fun with that?” Quarter girl scratched at the shaved part of her head and turned on her heel. 

“Unless…” Katie squeaked out. Quarter girl turned around.

“Unless what?” She asked.

“Unless,” Katie scratched the back of her neck, “you...maybe, wanted to catch a movie? After you get off shift, I mean.” 

Quarter girl stayed silent, and for a moment Katie regretted asking the question, desperately hoping that her cheeks weren’t as red as she knew them to be. But Quarter girl smiled, sending shockwaves through Katie.

“I would so be there, but I have a, uhm….thing.” She looked away quickly.

“Gotcha,” Katie forced a smile and wished for the memory eraser thingy from Men in Black. To use it on herself or Quarter Girl? She wasn’t exactly sure.

“No, I actually do have a thing. It’s just that it’s kind of a private thing. Thing you don’t tell the girl you’ve had a crush on for like a month kinda….thing.” She gulped in realization, “I just said that out loud, didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” Katie smiled, “yeah you did. It’s okay though. It was kind of charming.”

“Score one for Ellie,” Quarter girl said, fist bumping the air, “Um….Here.” And before Katie could process what was happening, Ellie grabbed her arm and began writing numbers on it.

“What the hell are you-” Katie protested.

“It’s my number,” Quarter Girl explained, “I’m not on shift tomorrow but you can call me and we can reschedule.”

“C-cool,” Katie tried to ignore the fact that her heart was racing like a jackrabbit’s. Quarter Girl finished writing and let go of Katie’s arm. Katie just sort of...stared at the number before her.

“I’m Elle, by the way, as in Elle Woods and not the letter,” Quarter Girl-er,  _ Elle _ said.

“I’m Katie. As in….um…..” crap why couldn’t she think of any Katies in the history of all time, “Katy Perry? Wait, no she doesn’t spell her name like me. Also I hate her. Statement retracted but my name is still Katie.”

“Ok,” Elle laughed, “well, I look forward to it, Katie Perry.” Elle turned on her heel and began walking away. Katie in turn, fist-bumped the air. Well, that went well.

* * *

 

“I’m home!” Keith shouted into the (hopefully) empty apartment. He shrugged off his backpack and headed for the room. He winced slightly at the sight of Andy, passed out on the couch with a magazine at her side. His hand hovered on the doorknob. One...Two….He couldn’t. Keith released the doorknob and headed back to the living room, staring at his aunt for a few moments.

“Andy,” he said. One, two, “Andy.” This time he said it louder.

“Kiddo!” Andy stretched out on the couch, letting her eyes open slowly, “How was your day?”

“It was great!” Keith said honestly, “Someone hired me. I start at Grease tomorrow. It’s gonna be...good. Good for us, I mean.”

“Keith,” Andy sat up abruptly, “I’ve already told you. You don’t need to feel like you have to provide for us. I have a job. A good one. All you have to worry about is being a teenager.”

“Oh, yeah, greatest job on Earth. Which is why you were sleeping on the couch at four pm on a Friday,” Keith was harsh, but he couldn’t help it. He was a skeptic. 

“ _ Keith _ ,” Andy warned. She took a deep breath, “Okay. So, things are a little bit slow. So they let me off work a little early. That does not mean that I need you out there making money because you’re scared, or something.”

“I know,” Keith clicked his tongue, “this is just, like, insurance, you know what I mean? Just in case. And It’s only part time. I haven’t sold my soul to corporate america. Yet.”

“ _ Keith _ .” 

“It’ll be fine. It’s just a couple days a week, I’m at the mall anyway, I get to see my friends at work. And we’re totally not gonna need the money. This is just on the slight chance we do, Okay?”

“Okay,” Andy nodded. She kicked her legs off the couch. 

“What about you?” Keith asked, sitting down next to her on the couch, “How was your day?”

“Well,” Andy sighed, “I got up at six, went to the restaurant. Christina let me off early, so I came home to check the messages on the answering machine.”

“Yeah?” Keith cleared his throat. She never mentioned the answering machine. She could describe her day in excruciating detail, down to what her coworkers were wearing, but she didn’t mention  _ checking _ things unless something important happened. It was an unspoken rule.

“Well, Rebecca called to thank me for catering her dinner party, and mentioned that my casserole was to die for. Easily the highlight of my week. Nothing that significant on most of the other messages but…” She hesitated, “Well, kid, your dad called.”

“Oh damn,” Keith breathed.

“Language. Anyway, he left a message saying that he called, but he didn’t say what for. I tried calling him back, but it went straight to voicemail every time. I gave up, took a nap, and here we are,” Andy gestured to the couch.

“What do you think he wanted?” Keith asked.

“I’m not sure exactly,” Andy furrowed her brow, “all he said was to call him back.”

“Well, that’s not vaguely ominous,” Keith crossed his arms.

“Right? Anyway,” Andy sighed, “I’m gonna try to forget about it for now and hope it was nothing important.”

“It always is with dad,” Keith mumbled. Andy hummed a note of agreement. 

“On a brighter note, we got pizza coupons in the mail!” Andy beamed, “Two people, one topping, seven breadsticks and a cherry pepsi.”

“But only one will survive,” Keith joked.

“Ha!” Andy snorted, “I was gonna go with ‘but only one can be america’s next top model’.”

“That works too,” Keith rolled his eyes. Andy patted him on the back. 

“Now, how to decide what topping,” Andy stroked her chin, “Fight to the death?”

“How about if I take out the trash and go get the mail, you let me pick the topping,” Keith offered.

“You mean the chores you were already supposed to do?” Andy asked. Keith didn’t answer. Andy sighed, “One condition. You are  _ not _ putting anchovies on that pizza.”

“Pineapple?”

“Keith, why do you hate me?”

“Jalapenos. Final offer.”

"....Deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp  
> See you guys for the next update in a friday or two  
> Check out my other two fics!  
> Somewhere in the middle of nowhere updates wednesdays!  
> Roll with the Punches updates Fridays!  
> Come yell at me on tumblr:  
> moonsofmercury.tumblr.com  
> thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment (or two. maybe five. pls leave me comments dudes they are my fuel ;___;


	2. Cat Days of Summer

Twenty minutes. Katie had been sitting by the phone for exactly twenty minutes. She blinked. She should call. She would call. Except….she wasn’t calling. Something was gripping her arm from dialing, and she was 20% sure that thing was pure anxiety. The other 80%? Allura’s force ghost. Which should never be ruled out as an option. She ran her hand along the rim of her cell phone, worrying her lip beneath her teeth. She nearly jumped out of her own skin when she heard the phone ring.

“Hello?” she managed.

“Pidge you are on the phone with me for what reason?” Hunk asked in a slightly nagging tone.

“Because you called,” Pidge answered in a huffy ‘duh’ tone.

“Well, I mean, yes. But do you know who couldn’t have answered if she was on the phone with the gamer girl?”

“Jeez Hunk, you’re gonna burn the fricking turkey if you don’t turn down the heat on this goddamned pressure cooker,” Katie sputtered.

“The who now?” Hunk asked.

“Look, I’m gonna call her. But I may come off as a little too ambitious if I call her at nine o'clock in the morning,” Katie pointed out.

“Point taken,” Hunk agreed. A few minutes passed before anyone spoke again.

“Hunk,” Katie huffed.

“Yes?” Hunk asked in a sing-song voice.

“Was there any other reason you called or did you just call to criticize my relationship skills despite your lack of the previously listed?”

“First off, uncalled for, second off, Ronnie’s on her way to pick everyone up and I wanted to know if you needed a ride,” Hunk explained.

“So the criticism was just a perk?” Katie asked.

“Katie Holt,” Hunk scoffed, “you really and truly insult me.”

“Pick me up at 9:45.”

“Done.”

* * *

 

Keith sat on one of the benches, picking at his nails. He had let Lance and ‘Lura talk him into painting his nails like the colors of the trans pride flag for June. They had hoped that the texture of the nail polish would keep him from biting at them. In that case the mission had been accomplished. Somewhat. Well, he wasn’t  _ biting _ them, but the picking and clawing had brought up an entirely new problem. 

He sat, waiting for his new boss to arrive, hoping that his soft pink nails wouldn’t throw the poor lady off. This place, after all, did have a reputation. He picked at his nail polish, eyes peeled for his employer. Keith nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone rang. His phone  _ never _ rang, on the simple principle that he absolutely dreaded phone calls. Didn’t Pidge know this? He had just been about to answer when the lady who’d hired him approached.

“Good morning, Keith,” the woman said. 

“Good morning,” Keith echoed with far more forced enthusiasm. 

“Damn, you’ve already got your retail voice locked and loaded,” she laughed, “I’ll have to work on mine or you may surpass me.”

“I’ve had a lot of practice answering the phone for my aunt’s restaurant,” Keith explained.

“Now that seems like the sort of thing that one would put on their resume,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, well, I never officially worked there,” he blinked.

“Exaggeration helps seal the deal sometimes when it comes to jobs.”

“Says the girl who hired someone with no experience whatsoever.”

“Touche,” she sighed, “I’m Nyma by the way. Consider me your guide to working in this hellmall.”

“Will there be a pop up book?” Keith asked. Nyma snorted. 

“Yeah, well, we should probably get inside and prepare ourselves to pretend to work for eight hours.”

“Sure,” Keith agreed, jumping up. 

“So,” Nyma grunted, unlocking the door to the shop, “what’re you in for?”

“You first,” Keith commanded.

“Well, I wanna go to a real university, and travel, and all that aesthetic bs. Become an EMT. Maybe family later. My dad wants me to go to a community college and marry rich. You do the math.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah. Help me lift the door, would ya?” She asked.

“Sure,” Keith grunted.

“Now you,” Nyma smiled.

“Oh. Well, just insurance. Just in case things go downhill at my aunt’s restaurant,” Keith looked at his shoes.

“Do you live with your aunt?” Nyma asked.

“I’m sorry, you must be a level eight friend to unlock the tragic backstory,” Keith ducked into the store.

“Fair, fair,” Nyma clicked her tongue, sliding over the countertop, “first thing’s first, I’ve gotta teach you the exciting ins and outs of using the cash register.”

“Sounds riveting.”

“Oh, but don’t burn yourself out just on the register portion of training, we’re getting into the fascinating world of sweater folding after this,” Nyma rolled her eyes.

“Sounds like we’ve got a heavy workload on this fine day.”

“Heavy lifting? In this job? Wow, you really do have a lot to learn,” Nyma laughed.

“I guess I really do,” Keith sighed. It was a good distraction, training for his new job, but he couldn’t shake the unsettling reminder every so often of his dad’s voicemail and what exactly it could entail. 

Maybe he was just calling to ask how Keith was doing? It was rare, but it was possible. It was times like this that Keith wished he had a more optimistic outlook when it came to his father. 

* * *

 

Hunk drummed his fingers along the edge of the counter, trying his best to drain out the dull chirpy department store music. A woman stood at the other end of the store, inspecting a pair of khakis with admirable intensity. He sighed, hoping that someone actually interesting would enter the store. 

His hope was quickly drained, but it recharged every time someone walked past the store. Only, people seldom walked past the store, only ran. He didn’t blame them, but there was so much boredom in working in a store that had less customers than an abandoned mall. After hearing retail horror stories from Allura, he should probably relish in that boredom. 

“Hunk!” Katie shouted from behind. 

“Holy!” Hunk could see his life flashing before his eyes. At the realization it was only Katie, he managed to calm himself down “Man, you have got to stop doing that to people.”

“But life wouldn’t be nearly as much fun if I didn’t sneak up on people,” Katie protested, “so what’s going on here in retail-land?”

“Nothing. As usual,” Hunk sighed.

“So….you’re not busy right now?” Katie asked.

“‘Fraid not…..where are you going with this?” Hunk folded his arms. 

“I was just thinking maybe you’d have time for some interesting events that took place here on this fine day,” Katie grinned.

“You mean like gossip?” Hunk gave Katie a dead serious look, “There is always time for gossip, young Katie.”

“Sort of,” Katie looked away.

“Well, spill it, I only have all day to hear you talk about these trivial things,” Hunk smiled.

“Alright,” Katie sighed, “So, update on the Quarter G….Elle. Update on the Elle situation. I called her.”

“Alright Kate!” Hunk cheered, “How was it?”

“Awkward at first,” Katie admitted, “I didn’t know what to say and I was really, really nervous. But she was just as nervous, so that took some of the pressure off me to be cool. We’re kind of….going on a date...type...thing this Saturday.”

“Katie!” Hunk squealed, “That is so cute!”

“Pleeeease don’t tell Lance. I love him but he’s so...intense,” Katie begged.

“You have my word,” Hunk swore.

“Last time you gave me your word, Allura was blowing up my phone about it fifteen minutes later,” Katie pointed out.

“Hey, that was an accident! It slipped! And besides, I assume you’ll be telling Lou about this anyway, right?”

“Right,” Katie sighed, “she’s much better at keeping secrets from Lance than you, by the way, which shouldn’t even be possible considering that she lives with him.”

“The blood of the convenant is thicker than the water of the womb.”

“Oh, shut up,” Katie rolled her eyes.

“This is gonna be the best first date of all time I bet!” Hunk clapped.

“And here I was, a fool, thinking you’d make a big deal of nothing,” Katie crossed her arms. But she could barely hide her smile of excitement behind her facade of teen apathy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe it took me six months to punch out four effing pages. Sorry y'all, i have been going through serious family drama but I am BACK babes and with a vengeance. I promise I will update again within the week if it kills me -__-  
> P.S. I made a writing only blog which is not that active whilst i'm trying to get caught up on writing but trust me IT WILL BE   
> cryptid-kogane.tumblr.com


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! As you may realize, i haven't updated in quite a while. Allow me to explain why  
I am now living with four dogs in a large house with five housemates who leave a great deal of chores to me.   
Let me repeat: i am living with four dogs. I'm taking care of them with very minimal help because i am the one who is home most. It has been overwhelming as i attempt to adjust, though at this point i had still been writing as much as i could. But it gets worse.  
During this adjustment period, i have also sustained a pretty severe back injury which left me mostly bed ridden for three days, and in that time i decided to give my mind and body a vacation, to recover because let's face it; i had been pushing myself far too hard.

After that, just as i was getting ready to start writing my ass off and catching up, one of the dogs completely chewed through my charger and a replacement is on it's way! In the meantime though, i can't edit docs on my phone and the desktop computer crashes every thirty minutes or so. So it looks like we'll have to wait just a little longer before i can write again! Sorry loves. I guarantee this is hardest on me. Writing is my biggest passion and my depression is nosediving as i take this break.

Thank you so much for understanding.  
As always   
My writing tumblr is @cryptid-kogane  
My art tumblr is @sunsofsaturn  
My general fandom tumblr is @moonsofmercury


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